David walked down the quiet hallway of the large suburban house.
He could hear his young niece crying softly behind him.
Lily grabbed his blue denim sleeve with both of her shaking hands.
Her face was red and tears kept streaming down her cheeks.
She told him to hurry before anyone else came back home.
David looked at the heavy wooden floorboards under the rug.
He pulled back the thick woven rug to reveal a dark metal hatch.
The rusted latch looked like it had not been opened in years.
David took a deep breath and grabbed the cold iron handle.
He pulled upward with all the strength he had in his arms.
The heavy hatch groaned as the metal hinges resisted his pull.
A cool blast of dusty basement air rushed into the warm hallway.
Lily stepped back against the wall while clutching her small jacket.
David leaned over the open hole and peered down into the darkness.
Wooden stairs led steep and straight down into the shadow below.
He called out a name but only an echo returned to him.
The air down there smelled like damp concrete and old forgotten paper.
David reached into his pocket and pulled out his bright flashlight.
The beam of light cut through the thick dust in the air.
He saw a shadow moving near the far wall of the basement.
Someone was sitting on the concrete floor in the far corner.
David felt his heart beat faster against his ribs.
He told Lily to stay at the top of the stairs.
He took his first slow step down into the cold dark room.
The wooden stairs creaked loudly under his heavy boots.
He lowered his voice and spoke words of comfort into the dark.
A quiet whisper answered him from the shadow of the back wall.
David stepped off the last stair onto the hard concrete floor.
He pointed his flash light directly at the figure in white.
His sister Sarah was sitting against the wall with pale skin.
She had been missing from the family for over three months.
Everyone thought she had moved away to another state long ago.
David dropped his flash light in pure shock at the sight.